Moccasin.



E. A. LLEWELLYN & J. R. BRIGGS.

MOCCASIN.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.5, 19:5

1 ,206, 1 1 9. Patented Nov. 28, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET E. A. LLEWELLYN & J. Ri smees.

MOCCASIN.

APPLICATION FILED was, I915.

Patented Nov. 28, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT @FFIQE.

ERNEST A. LLEWELLYN AND JOHN R. BRIGGS, 0F WILTON, MAINE, ASSIGNORS T0 G. H. BASS & COMPANY, OF WILTON, MAINE, A CORPORATIONOF MAINE.

MOCCASIN.

Application filed August 5, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ERNEST A. LLEWEL- LYN and J 01m R. BRIGGS, citizens of the Dominion of Canada and subjects of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Wilton, in the county of Franklin and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Moccasins; and we hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

This invention relates to foot-wear, and more particularly to moccasins, and has for its primary object the production of a true moccasin that can be made without the necessity for any hand seam whatsoever, either in the low-cut or the high-cut form, thus adapting the moccasin to be made at less expense than a moccasin made according to the usual methods of manufacture requiring certain parts to be sewed by hand, and avoiding the weakness inherent in the usual butting hand seam.

A further object is to provide a vamp or blanks for the vamp and quarters made in two parts joined together by a seam extending lengthwise of the sole; each of said parts comprising an upper instep portion integral with one of the quarters and a lower portion of the upper in front of the usual ankle seam, said parts being united in such manner as to avoid the gathering of the leather as in the usual process of manufacture, and adapted to be attached to an outer sole with a heel and counter or stifiener in such manner as to provide a moccasin that will be pliable and comfortable to the wearer and at the same time will retain its shape and present an attractive and finished appearance without theobjectionable features incident to the gathering of the leather according to? present mcthods, which tend to make the moccasin stiif and" cause the seam around the toe piece to rip.

The invention will first be hereinafter more particularly described, with reference Specification of Letters Iatent.

Patented Nov. 28, 1916.

Serial No. 43,867.

tudinal sectional plan view of the same; the section being taken on a line below the seam which connects the vamp with the toeshown, in Figs. 1 and 2, a right-hand shoe or moccasin of low-cut form embodying our invention, the letter A denotes the outside vamp section and A the inside vamp section, having their lower abutting edges united by a seam extending longitudinally of the sole of the shoe, as shown in Fig. 2,

and secured to a sole B, while the upper portion of the vamp and quarters formed by said sections are secured to a toe-piece C, having a tongue 0, by a seam extending partially around the moccasin from the front to near the usual ankle seam. The meeting ends of the vamp sections A and A at the rear or heel portion may be sewed together and supported by the usual counter or stiffener 1) while the joint or heel seam is covered on the inside by a back stay E, placed between said counter and 'vamp sections, and at the front or too the joint is similarly covered on the outside by a stay F which may be secured to the vamp sections by a seam at each side of the joint, as shown. No special form of stitch or seam is necessary to secure the stays E and F, as they may be stitched or sewed on in any desired manner to give a neat and finished appearance. The blanks for the vamp sections, as shown in Fig. 3, are denoted by the letters A and A, the same as the corresponding parts are lettered in Figs. 1 and 2.

These blanks are each cut out of a piece of leather or other suitable material in the form shown, one being substantially a counterpart of the other, so that when united as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 they together form the entire upper of a moccasin of the low-cut form, excepting the toe-piece C, with its rearwardly extending tongue 0, and any parts that may be attached thereto, such as the front and back stays and heel stifi'- ener.

The lower edges of the blanks A and A from a point near the heel, as at a, to a point beyond the ankle seam, as at a, are each slightly concaved and from the point a said edges are each curved or rounded to a point a and such rounded portions are preferably cut-away or provided with a plurality of V-cuts a and a*, one or more, to adapt the leather to be gathered and sewed together, so as to give the desired shape to the front of the vamp, while the concave edges from a to a are likewise gathered and sewed together,v thus giving the proper fit to the shank when said edges are stitched or sewed together along a medial or nearly medial line. extending longitudinally of the sole, as shown in Fig. 2. The outer or upper edges of the blanks A and A in the form shown in Fig. 3, may be out on a slight curve from the point a to a point a near the ankle seam, from which point said edges may rise abruptly and then extend for a short distance in a gentle curve or at an angle to the opposite edge and then slope downwardly a short distance and then extend on a line approximately parallel with the opposite edge to the rear end or heel portion, so as to provide a flap a for the attachment thereto of eyelets to receive an ordinary shoe-string or other means of fastening said flaps together when the moccasin is being worn.

The usual method of manufacturing moccasins is to place the vamp upon the last and then draw the edges of the vamp around the last and sew it to the toe-piece with a hand seam, whereas in our method the upper before being lasted is completely fitted, including stitching the seams which attach the vamp to the toe-piece, and the seams which fasten the lower edges of the vamp together. The moccasin is then placed upon a last. The heel is lasted down with tacks to a lift of sole-leather, and the sole tacked on. The shoe is then taken ofl' of the last and the sole is sewed through and through or nailed, the fastenings of the sole coming on the outside of the V-cuts so as to make it water-tight. Preferably the lower edges of the-vamp are sewed together with a zigzag seam, such as is made by machine, so that when rubbed down the two edges of the leather may abut, which'makes a very smooth seam, and gives a very neat appearance on the inside.

As shown, the outside vamp section or blank A is a little wider than the inside vamp section or blank A and the V-cut a therein is somewhat deeper and wider than the corresponding V-cut in the other blank, as more leather is taken up with the sole portion of the outside vamp section than with the inside vamp section, but otherwise ing an extension 0 which is secured alon one blank is simply a counterpart of the other. The inner edges of the back portions of the blanks may be cut away and slit as shown to allow the leather to spread so as to adjust itself to the round part of the heel, leaving an opening which is covered by the sole on the outside and may be covered by a piece of sole leather over the heel seat on the inside, as described in Patent No. 984:,739 issued to G. H. Bass February 21, 1911.

In a moccasin thus formed the leather along the upper edge of the vamp simply lies in the right place, without any necessity for forcing or gathering the same, and it has a tendency to keep its shape more correctly and uniformly and tobetter advantage than in the case of vamps as heretofore made, and the moccasin is more pliable than the ordinary moccasin and also presents a more neat and attractive appearance, and there is also the added advantage of greater strength and tightness of the lapped seam in comparison with the ordinary butting hand seam, and furthermore, the machine made moccasin as described will be stronger, tighter, and more durable, and will keep its shape better, because the leather in the vamp is in its natural shape and not puckered or forced into position.

The same pattern may be used in makin moccasins of the high-cut form, but pre erably the outer or upper edges of the blanks, instead of having the flaps a, as shown in Fig. 3, may be of the form shown in Fig. 4, in which said edges are cut on a slight curve inclining upwardly from the front to the rear end or heel portion; this being the only diflerence between the blanks A and A Fig. 3, and the corresponding blanks A and A, Fig. 4:. The latter form 1s more economical and preferable for a high-cut moccasin, such as shown in Fig. 5, wherein the tongue is lengthened by providits edges by lapped seams to strips 1 of so leather, which in turn are sewed to the uppers or quarters 2 and 3, which are provided with the usual lacing eyelets, as shown; the seam at the back being covered by a stay 4 which extends from the heel to ithe top of the upper and terminates in a oop 5.

It will be understood, of course, that other material than leather may be used and the word leather as used in the appended claim is intended to include any other suitable material.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

moccasin or shoe comprising a sole, a toe-piece and two vamp sections each forming one of the quarters and a lower front portion of the upper, said lower front por tions of the upper being attached to said toe-piece by a seam extending around the front to near the usual ankle seam on a line substantially parallel with said sole, and said vamp sections having their lower edges rounded at the front and provided with V-shaped Cuts therein which are drawn and sewed together while the lower portions of the two sections thus formed are turned under and abuttingly secured together 1:; a seam extending on a median line longi- 

